Amid the Indian government’s push towards Indigenisation in the military, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will equip its made-in-India Light Combat Aircraft Mark-1A fighter jets with Uttam and Angad indigenous radars and electronic warfare suite, replacing the imported parts of the system earlier.
The Indian Air Force has already commissioned 83 LCA Mark-1A jets, with plans to order an additional 97 in the near future. The Uttam Active Electronic Scanned Radar and the Angad Electronic Warfare suite are in the advanced stages of development. They will be ready for the integration with the LCA Mark-1A aircraft soon, a defence media agency reported.
Angad Radar
India’s DRDO has made significant progress in electronic warfare technology with the development of the Advanced Self-Protection Jammer (ASPJ), called Angad. The cutting-edge jamming system built on the Active Phased Array is at the core of ASPJ.
It enables the aircraft to adjust the radar beam, making it highly adaptable to changing situations and optimising its jamming effectiveness. This capability to steer the radar beam enhances the aircraft’s sustainability, particularly in high-stress situations.
It also consists of a DRFM (Digital Radio Frequency Memory) plays a pivoting role in the jamming operation. It enables the capability to capture, store and replay radar signals, effectively confusing adversaries and disrupting their target mechanism.
Uttam Radar
It is an indigenous solid-state gallium arsenide radar that has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and its technology has been transferred to the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), which will build it. It will be installed in LCA Tejas Mk-1A, Tejas Mk-II, AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) and TEDBF fighter jets.
The radar features include wideband RF front end, ultra-low antenna side lobes, frequency and waveform agility, jammer suppression, Low Probability of Intercept and Non-cooperative Target Recognition. The indigenously developed AESA radar has a range of 120 km. With this, India has nullified the air superiority of China. China gained its air superiority with J20 multi–role fighters.
Some key features of the AESA Uttam Radar include extended detection range, multi-target tracking, high electronic countermeasures, high-resolution imaging, weather tracking and Doppler beam sharpening. It can track up to 50 targets and engage four targets simultaneously. Only the United States of America, the European Union, Israel, China and India have this technology.
The Replacement Plan
The current replacement plan starts from the 41st aircraft in the order of 83 LCA Mark-1A fighter jets, including an Indian-made electronic warfare suite and the AESA radar. Different laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are executing the projects.
The move to retrofit the LCA with homegrown weapons systems is expected to save millions in foreign exchange while simultaneously creating employment opportunities in the defence sector.
In line with these plans, these made-in-India aircraft will replace the ageing MiG fighter jets in the fleet, sources said. they suggested that these plans be submitted to the Defence Ministry and other relevant stakeholders in national security.
The Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, also held a review meeting recently with all involved parties, including the HAL, with regard to indigenous fighter jet programs.
